


It Burns

by Dragon_Writes



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Autistic Sonic the Hedgehog, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, How Do I Tag, I personally headcanon he's both, Kinda, Sensory Overload, Sonic the Hedgehog Has ADHD, WE LOVE IT, ok I think I'm done tagging, this could be platonic or romantic whatever you want tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:13:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26446891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragon_Writes/pseuds/Dragon_Writes
Summary: It was one of those days.
Relationships: Shadow the Hedgehog & Sonic the Hedgehog
Comments: 5
Kudos: 79





	It Burns

It was one of those days.

He’d known almost as soon as he woke up, when the buzzing of the kitchen light was audible in his room, when his eyes burned at the sunlight piercing through the blue curtains.

It took all of Sonic’s energy to roll out of bed, the feel of the blankets clinging uncomfortably to his fur, the cold floor making him flinch as he stepped down. His ears were ringing, vision slightly blurred, hands shaking as he tugged on his socks. The fibres burned. 

The journey to the living room was a long one. He forced himself to stand straight, resisted every urge to just curl into a ball and block out the world, to come back and fight another day because chaos everything was loud.

The buzzing of the kitchen light was still there, even louder now that he was closer. The drone of Tails working on the Tornado echoed in the background, the drill’s shriek constant along with the occasional clatter as something fell. His hands shook at each noise. Ears pressed to his head.

A run, that’s what he needed. Just get out a bit. Stretch his legs.

Ignore how they trembled.

He could go into town for a while, right? It wasn’t too bad, and what if they needed help anyways? A distraction. Yeah. Maybe Eggman would attack, that would take his mind off of how loud the world was.

A breeze ruffled his spines as he stepped outside. He didn’t waste a second before tearing off in the direction of town, the pressure of the speed surprisingly comforting against the onslaught of everything else. The wind whistled in his ears, and for a minute he thought maybe the day would be alright.

He was wrong. So, so wrong.

It had taken around 10 seconds for Sonic to realise what a stupid idea coming to the town was. The sheer volume of a seemingly endless amount of conversations hit him at full force. Construction was going on nearby. People sat talking and eating at a cafe. Someone was yelling at a store employee. A child was crying. The sunlight bounced off of the windows. Store signs glowed too bright. Fruity perfume permeated the air. A restaurant had put out their bins. 

He felt sick.

He wanted to scream.

He wanted to cry.

He wanted to leave.

Why couldn't he move.

Someone shoved past him. He thought they said something. He couldn’t make it out. The feeling of the touch stayed, crawling around his body and it hurt. Someone else brushed past on his other side. HIs spines were bristling. The movement stung. His pelt felt dented where he’d been touched. It burned. The feeling continued to spread.

Nothing was making sense. The sounds were all molded into one, white noise that bounced around his head, colours that became blobs of light.

His head was pounding.

“-aker?”

He thought he could taste blood.

“Faker?”

Please make it stop.

“Sonic-”

That voice. He knew that voice. 

He forced open his eyes. He didn’t know when they’d closed. A black and red blur stood in front of him.

“Are you okay?”

Sonic couldn’t reply. He couldn’t make a sound. He just stared blankly. A shaky breath.

“Alright, let’s get out of here.”

A pause.

“Can I touch you?”

It took all his energy to give a small nod. Barely visible. He was still shaking. He could barely feel his legs.

A hand gently took his own, guiding him away from the crowd. The touch grounded him. He tried to focus on it alone, block out the chatter and sunlight and too strong perfumes.

They walked slowly. His legs were still trembling. Breathing slightly too fast. 

But the touch didn’t burn.

They eventually came to a rundown park. No one was around, the place long abandoned.

It was peaceful.

The noise of the town was far in the distance. His vision had cleared, able to make out objects again rather than blurs of too bright colour. Only the scent of the surrounding trees was in the air.

His hand was still in the other’s grasp.

They didn’t say anything. With a gentle tug, Sonic was led over to an old swing set. Surprisingly the old chains didn’t squeak as they took a seat each, free hands gripping the comfortingly cool metal.

They sat there for what could have been seconds or hours. At some point Sonic had begun gently pushing the swing back and forth, the faint breeze bringing a small smile to his face. 

A squeeze to his hand drew his attention, and he turned towards the other.

“Do you feel any better?” Shadow asked, voice quiet and slightly unsure as he glanced at Sonic.

He didn’t trust his voice to work yet, so Sonic just nodded his head with a grin, green eyes no longer clouded over as he continued to swing back and forth.

Shadow snickered quietly in response. “Good,” he sighed, a faint smile on his own face as the blue hedgehog stared back at the now setting sun.

After a moment of hesitation, the black hedgehog began to shift on the swing, moving himself back and forth in sync with the other.

Their hands were still clasped together, a small comfort against the onslaught of everything that life threw, and he was okay.

It no longer burned.

**Author's Note:**

> Me? Projecting onto Sonic the hedgehog? Never
> 
> Listen ok I like the thought of these two Understanding each other and one of the common grounds is the hell that is sensory overloads, they help each other when they can
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading though!! Comments and kudos are very much appreciated, and thank you :D


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